Childcare Sufficiency Assessment 2017/18 Release Annual report of childcare sufficiency in Doncaster 1 Contents 1. Introduction and Methodology ................................................................................ 3 1a. Introduction ....................................................................................................... 3 2. Executive Summary ............................................................................................... 5 2a. Demographics ................................................................................................... 5 2b. Affordability ....................................................................................................... 6 2c. Cost of Childcare ............................................................................................... 7 2d. Tax Free Childcare ........................................................................................... 8 2e. Free School Meals (FSM) ................................................................................. 9 3. Key Data & Information ........................................................................................ 11 3a. Supply of Childcare ......................................................................................... 11 3b. Indices of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) .............................................................. 14 4. Overview of Economic Development.................................................................... 15 5. Quality of Childcare .............................................................................................. 16 5a. Children with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND) ............. 17 5b. Parental Demand ............................................................................................ 18 6. Early Education Funding for 2, 3 and 4 Year Olds ............................................... 22 6a. Free Early Education for 2 Year Olds ............................................................. 22 2YO Take Up Summer 2018 (Boroughwide) ..................................................... 22 6b. Early Education Places for 3 and 4 Year Olds (Universal Provision) .............. 23 6c. 30 Hours Childcare ......................................................................................... 24 Take Up (Boroughwide) ..................................................................................... 24 7. Gap Analysis ........................................................................................................ 25 7a. Type Gaps ...................................................................................................... 25 7b. Availability Gaps ............................................................................................. 26 7c. Gap Analysis Action Plan ................................................................................ 29 2 1. Introduction and Methodology 1a. Introduction The aim of the Council is to implement government legislation to ensure the sufficiency duty is met through the identification of childcare gaps and the implementation of a range of actions that will enable the Council to fulfil its duties under the Childcare Act 2006 & 2016. Childcare sufficiency is not just about having enough childcare places to meet the needs of working and training parents, it is about ensuring: the provision is of a high quality; it improves the outcomes for children; narrows the gap in attainment; prepare children for school; and is inclusive and flexible to meet families’ needs. The provision needs to ensure continuity of care and service by being a sustainable business with affordable fees. A sufficient, sustainable, quality childcare market underpins the poverty agenda, supports local economic development and the Councils Starting Well Service early intervention and preventative strategies. There are 16 pyramids in the Borough of Doncaster. Data and information has been collated and a gap analysis undertaken to provide a localised picture for each of the 16 pyramids. The Learning Provision Organisation Service has worked in partnership with a range of public, voluntary and private sector partners, early help, schools / academies, service providers and families to collate the information within this report. A Childcare Sufficiency Assessment measures the nature and extent of the demand and supply of childcare within a local authority area. It identifies where there are gaps in the childcare market and informs a market management action plan to ensure there are sufficient childcare and early education places. The government has set a number of factors, which can be regarded as the benchmark of sufficiency: • There are sufficient childcare places overall in each pyramid • Provision is flexible and accessible to fit in with working patterns • There is a range of childcare provision that is affordable and of a high quality This report has been collated and produced by the Learning Provision Organisation Service. If you have any comments or wish to discuss the content of the report please contact us on [email protected] 3 Local Authorities are required by legislation to: Secure sufficient childcare, so far as is reasonably practicable, for working parents, or parents who are studying or training for employment, for children aged 0 - 14 (or up to 18 for disabled children). To secure sufficient childcare places, local authorities should take into account: • what is ‘reasonably practicable’ when assessing what sufficient childcare means for their area; and • the state of the local childcare market, including the demand for specific types of providers in a particular locality and the amount and type of supply that currently exists; • the state of the labour market including the sufficiency of the local childcare workforce; • the quality and capacity of childcare providers and childminders registered with a childminder agency, including their funding, staff, premises, experience and expertise; • should encourage schools in their area to offer out of hours childcare from 8am to 6pm and in school holidays; • should encourage existing providers to expand their provision and new providers to enter the local childcare market. • Should encourage providers to take a sustainable business approach to planning and signpost providers to resources to support them, for example the business sustainability tool kit published by the department, and can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/early-years-business-sustainability All local authorities are responsible for determining the content of their report, geographical division and date of publication. 4 2. Executive Summary The 2017/18 Childcare Sufficiency Assessment provides an overall summary for Doncaster, based on the data, gaps and recommendations identified within each pyramid. The report provides analysis on Doncaster’s 16 pyramids which are; Adwick, Armthorpe, Balby, Campsmount, Conisbrough, Danum, Don Valley, Edlington, Hall Cross, Hatfield, Hayfield, Hungerhill, Mexborough, Ridgewood, Rossington & Thorne. 2a. Demographics Over the past few years Doncaster has seen a significant transformation through investment to the area which has impacted on the social and economic opportunities for example: New projects such as the Civic and Cultural Quarter, The new Doncaster Cultural and Learning Centre, Project Unity and The Great Yorkshire Way Project to name a few. Recently a decision has been made to build a University Technical College on land in Doncaster, this will give 13 to18 year olds from across the borough the opportunity to learn STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) subjects and gain the advanced engineering and digital design and skills and qualifications needed for a 21st century workforce. The Doncaster UTC will open in September 2020 and build up to a maximum capacity of 750 students over time. Taking into consideration the new major business developments and the planned new housing developments, this will impact on Doncaster’s regeneration and increase the number of job opportunities and people moving into the area. Within Doncaster, there are 10,578 new dwellings planned to accommodate new families with a predicted 4333 additional children aged three to 14 years within the next three years. It is predicted that Phases 1, 2 and 3 will provide an additional 9,740 residential dwellings by 2028 within the Doncaster area. 5 2b. Affordability Low income can be a barrier to parents accessing childcare. The Childcare Element of the Working Tax Credits amongst other financial support schemes helps to support eligible families to access suitable childcare and return to work. The table below shows the percentage take up of the Childcare Element of Working Tax Credits. This shows the Doncaster and National averages, showing that Doncaster’s average is slighlty higher (0.44%) than the National average. 2013 - 2014 Tax Year * Doncaster Average 14.74% National Average 14.30% At the time of publishing this data the 2013 – 2014 was the most up-to-date information. 6 2c. Cost of Childcare Providing affordable childcare needs to be balanced with ensuring a sustainable business model. The greatest barrier, parents stated in the 2017 Parent Survey on Childcare Needs, to accessing childcare was cost. The average cost of a childcare place in Doncaster is indicated in the table below compared against the Yorkshire and Humber average, where available. Average Childcare Costs - Private, Voluntary